The Fruits of Economic Research Are Everywhere

Starting in the 1960s, with support from NSF, Charles R. Plott of the
California Institute of Technology made advances in game theory that
paved the way for practical applications three decades later. Here
he outlines the practical relevance of NSF-supported economics research:

"The fruits of economic research are everywhere. Because NSF
is the only dedicated source of funding in the United States for
basic research in the economic sciences, its impact has been large. We
see it in the successful application of game theory to the design
of the FCC auctions of licenses for new telecommunications
services.

More broadly, we see the impact of NSF-supported work in some
of the most important economic trends of our lifetimes, such as
deregulation of airlines and other industries, nongovernmental
approaches to environmental protection and the liberalization
of world-wide trade. The recent reexamination of the Consumer
Price Index and how it should be measured relies heavily on
NSF-sponsored basic research on price indices.

In economics it is easy to find problems that are not
solved, and perhaps are not solvable in any scientific sense. Yet
measured in a cost-benefit sense, the achievements of economic
research stand against those of any science."